Living with Food Restrictions

An incident happened this morning that gave me pause.  It didn't ruin my day or anything, but it definitely made me feel singled out because of my food restrictions.  I was at the local farmer's market checking out a bakery tent because a good friend said they had a section that was completely gluten-free.  When I asked, the baker had one item (brownies) that were gluten-free and vegan.  But, because of my corn allergy, I also had to ask if she used cornstarch. Her response seemed to be a mix of hesitation, annoyance, and irritation.  I could be completely wrong in that assessment, but since she said she didn't use cornstarch explicitly, I inquired if she used baking powder and what kind it was.  She didn't know and said that it came in a 5-lb pound bag.  I'd be willing to bet that it had cornstarch, so I opted out of purchasing anything from that tent.  During the conversation, I also asked if she used oat flour to replace the wheat flour but didn't really get a response.  Another customer who overheard me say that I was allergic to wheat, corn, and oat basically said for me to "Go ahead and please take a step back."  Maybe she was saying it so I wouldn't have an allergic reaction just standing there (benefit of the doubt in hindsight), but in the moment, I couldn't help but feel hurt from the dismissal.  Not that I needed the calories or her approval of me and my situation, but I know that I am not the only person with food allergies and restrictions.

It is really disheartening to not be able to enjoy treats or restaurants or vendor stands like everyone else.  The first 25 or so years of my life I never had any of these restrictions (besides portion control) and took that freedom for granted.  Now, that I've joined the many people burdened with food allergies, I find that my patience for dietary limitations has grown exponentially.  I feel very strongly about finding and/or creating recipes that people can eat safely.  Or at the very least, they don't feel like they are an inconvenience because they can't have peanuts or wheat or almonds or zucchini....or whatever it is.  Most recipes I can convert/substitute pretty easily.  The main thing I struggle with is replacing coconut milk with something else.  I haven't yet found a nut-free substitution for coconut or coconut milk.  In cases like that, I usually avoid recipes that need coconut.

I would have to say finding allergen-friendly recipes has become somewhat of a passion of mine.  I have a couple that are my own creations, but mostly, I scour recipes online and can usually tell how they'll turn out just from reading the ingredients and methods.  One of the goals of this blog was to create a collection of my most favorite recipes in one easy-to-find place.

So if you must carry the burden of a food allergy and all the research and caution that goes with it, please know you're not alone.  I empathize with you because I know how hard and frustrating it is.  It is my new normal.

As a response to what happened this morning, I made GF, dairy-free pizza for dinner, as well as chocolate zucchini muffins that are currently in the freezer for quick breakfast go-to's!